It's a dead guy thing!
by CodeNameCassandra
Summary: This is a little story set prior to the events of book 5 - 'Haunted' so pretend book 5 doesn't exist. Jesse's assigned to follow Suze but she has other ideas.
1. The Plan Unveils

Hey all! Ok well this is my first fic, so please be nice. Please R&R. I accept constructive criticism….but flames aren't nice! No flames!!! Lol. This chapter is just pretty much to introduce so forgive me for lack of plot so far.

Cassie x

Disclaimer: Meg Cabot owns all characters recognisable from the 'Mediator' series. I just own the plot. I'm making no money out of this, it's purely for fun.

Title: It's a [dead] guy thing!

Chapter 1 

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Susannah Simon bellowed from inside the principal's office, "NO WAY!"

            Father Dominic who had been looking over some important papers at the time of the sudden outburst let out a long sigh

"With all due respect Father D, I appreciate your concern but I'm perfectly capable of handling myself"

"Yes I am aware that you're capable of handling yourself, but it is the way that you go about handling these situations that have caused me such great concern"

I got up from where she had been perched on the windowsill, overlooking the courtyard of Junipero Serra Mission Academy and firmly placed my hands on

either side of Father Dominic's desk. "What is that supposed to mean? You know I always come out on top in these situations"

"That may well be true Susannah, but that is not until you have put somebody else's life in danger, and in light of recent events the life which seems to be at risk most often is your own."

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe what Father Dom was saying to me. I mean I know I don't always take the world peace approach to situations, but believe you me I have damn good reasons not to. " It's not my fault that crazy psycho ghosts from Jesse's past life share an unhealthy obsession for their love to see me dead, and so appear before me in the middle of the night carrying pointy instruments!"

"No-one said it _was_ your fault Susannah," Father Dominic said sternly, "That is why I have asked Jesse to keep a much closer watch on you as I cannot keep tabs on you at all times"

I opened my mouth wide as if to protest but Father Dominic continued

"There is no point in arguing with me Susannah, after all I am your principal and it is in your best interest that you do not kick up a fuss about something as small as this"

How could he say something like this was small? Did he honestly believe that he was doing this because it was in my best interest? Don't get me wrong, Father D was a good guy an' all but he was one _seriously_ deluded priest. Jesse of all people had been assigned to look after me, by escorting me to and from school and if necessary he would accompany me on all my outings no matter how big or small they were. I'm amazed he hadn't been given permission to follow me into the bathroom.

We hadn't communicated for at least thirty seconds so Father Dom in the effort to obviously check that I was still of this world asked " Are we of an Agreement?"

I thought about this for a few moments. My first though was to walk straight up to Father Dom, grab him by the collar and tell him that we definitely did not have an agreement but then I thought that rather unethical so I stopped and thought again, when suddenly it hit me. _How _could I not have thought of this sooner? Jesse may be taking me to and from school and between different eating places and malls but he wouldn't be there in between the picking up and dropping off. I could simply tell Jesse that I would meet him at a certain time at a designated place but then I could not turn up and go it alone. Jesse wouldn't be any wiser to my act of skulking, so what he didn't know couldn't harm him. Right?


	2. Meeting Time

Chapter two:

After our little confrontation in his office, Father Dominic and I came to the understanding that Jesse would become my escort until further notice after I smiled

sweetly and apologised for my previous behaviour. I was sure he was going to suspect something due to my sudden change of heart, but the poor guy fell for the

act. I did feel a little bit guilty, and I was sure I would be damned to hell for lying to a priest but it was either that, or surrender and be placed under the constant

watch of a guy nobody else could see, twenty four-seven. But before I had the chance to sing 'I've got the Power' and applaud myself on my extremely convincing

acting skills, Jesse materialised outside of my homeroom class. I jumped about ten feet in the air, as I had not expected a six-foot unearthly hottie to appear inches

from my face. "Geez Jesse, what the hell are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. That's exactly what I was trying to do." A wide smile appeared across Jesse's face, which I'm pretty sure didn't end until they met his eyes. They were nice eyes too. Really dark, and manly and dreamy… "_Get your act together Suze_," I told my self because it really looks like he can read my mind sometimes.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't have a sense of humour," I said.

Jesse let out a small chuckle before turning me round and steering me in the direction of the Mission's courtyard.

"Jesse, I hope you know that I'm supposed to be in home-room right now," I said indignantly.

"Yes Querida, but I need to speak to you first." It looked like it was kind of important, so instead of completely blowing him off, I sat patiently and waited for him to speak.

"I know you don't like the idea of somebody looking out for you, but you know as well as I do that it's for the best."

I didn't know it was for the best but I didn't want him to be suspicious of me so I nodded in agreement.

"I know you'd probably rather it was some teenage boy who people could see escorting you everywhere, but Father Dominic strongly believes that the fact that I can not be seen is very important." Everything he was saying was true apart from I didn't want it just to be any boy. I wanted it to be Jesse, but I wished people could see him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the poor guy for being dead, its not his fault some maniac killed him, but if Jesse had been alive, it would have made my life a whole lot easier. Not that I ever told him this. So I told him that I was fine with it, and that I knew that all of this was for my own safety.

"So I will meet you by the gates at three o'clock?" Jesse said

"Three o'clock, by the gates. Got it." I threw an innocent smile Jesse's way, and it was received with a gentle, "I'm glad you can see why we had to do this Querida." Jesse disappeared without another word.

As I walked back towards homeroom, I turned around to make sure Jesse hadn't materialised in the hallway because he'd forgotten to tell me something. After a few seconds I turned back around and begun to turn the handle. "I'm sorry Jesse," I muttered, "but I wish I _could_ see it your way," and with that, I made my way into the classroom.


	3. Chemistry and the Cripple

_" 2:52……….2:53………..2:54…only a minute to go Simon, you can do this"_

Mr Farrows, my chemistry teacher, was staring at me over the top of his half-moon glasses. I looked up at him, but as soon as I did this, his eyes quickly retreated, and were once again focused on the extremely large pile of papers in front of him.

I looked up again, as I felt Mr Farrows' gaze upon me once more. He did the same as before when he caught me watching. Then I realised why he had been staring like that. He held my paper closely between his thumb and his index finger…I could see something circled in red at the top of the paper…as I leaned across my friend cee cee to try and get closer to the paper, I saw it…omg was that an 'F'? 

"Only thirty seconds to go and then I'm out…deep breaths Suze, come on" 

In the effort to get back to my seat, I climbed back the way I came but this time, as I could not believe what I had just witnessed, I knocked the chair with my foot and as I went to sit down, the chair lost balance, and I, along with my seat when crashing with a great thud onto the lab floor.

"Way to go Suze" I thought 

No one except Adam and Cee Cee came to my aid. As they helped me back up, I saw Mr Farrows stood gazing over the top his desk, his overly large nose hanging over the edge as if it was coming to meet me. "Problem Miss Simon?" He had a stern look in his eye, so I thought it best not to ask him if I could send him flying from his seat and see how he liked it." No Mr Farrows, no problem at all."

I attempted to stand up on my own to try and regain some dignity, but I was having difficulty. I had a horrible feeling I'd sprained my ankle. How the hell was I going to get out of here without Jesse seeing me? With only one leg in proper working order I didn't think I was going to be getting very far.

"Good. Simon I'd like to see you after class for a few minutes," said Mr Farrows.

After the bell had gone and everyone else had cleared out the classroom, I realised I only had four minutes to get this thing with Mr F out of the way, and also find away of hobbling past my ghostly watch-man. _"Unlikely"_ I thought to myself

"Susannah…..you are an extremely able student, but recently you have seemed, well….a little bit distracted from your studies," Mr Farrows said as I approached his desk.

Uh, well if you call having a ghost taking up permanent residency in your bedroom, trying to make it through a day without having some sort of death threat from the other world, and recently taken part in an exorcism amongst other things, then yeah you could say I've been a little bit on the distracted side. However, I wasn't going to tell him this.

Mr Farrows continued. "Your last assignment was extremely disappointing. You only managed to score an 'F'." I did my best to look truly shocked as if I hadn't already seen the mark.

"But Mr Farrows," I said in my most innocent voice, "I studied really hard for that assignment, I didn't go out all weekend." I hoped he couldn't see right through me because of course I hadn't stayed in all weekend. My stepbrother Jake had dragged me along to work at the pizza place with him because his friends had all gone away for the weekend. I happened to be the last one out of the house so he had cornered me and blackmailed me into doing it. Part of the deal was he wouldn't tell his dad that I'd been learning to drive in the family car and backed into an extremely large oak tree, which caused me to break a taillight. So as you can see, it was either work with Jake, or be grounded for the foreseeable future.

"Well obviously just not hard enough Miss Simon," with a look of distrust creeping across his face. " I shall be speaking to Father Dominic about your performance this year, and see what he has got to say about it. Now run along Miss Simon, I don't want your parents to be wondering where you've got to."

I look at the clock. It was three o'clock on the dot. No chance of making a run for it today, so I grabbed my bag and strolled, well more limped down the corridor, and out into the quad. Jesse however was not at the gate. Where was he? I waited at the gate for the next five minutes, but Jesse did not make an appearance for another few minutes. However, I could see Father Dominic in the distance waving his hands around like a mad man. "Susannah," he called, "SUSANNAH!"

I spun my head around to see what all the commotion was about. "What's the matter Father Dom. What is it?"

"There's someone in the office I'd like you to meet Susannah, Come along now." I hobbled my way after Father Dom until I finally reached his office for the second time that day.


	4. A New Aquaintance

Chapter 4:

Sat in the chair in the corner of Father Dom's office was a boy I'd never seen before. He must have been about seventeen years old. He had dark longish hair, like one of those emo kids, emerald green eyes and he had the most perfect smile I'd ever seen in my life, well, with the exception of Jesse's of course.

"This," Father Dominic announced at last, "is Ryan Cooper, and he's a transfer student from Maine."

Ryan got up from where he was sat and held his hand out in front of him. "Pleased to meet you Susannah," he said with a small smile.

"It's Suze…and I'm pleased to meet you too." I extended my hand to meet with his. And let me tell you, I'm so glad I did. He had _really_ strong hands, like Jesse's, except, this time, every could see me touching him, unlike they could when I was with Jesse. Ryan let out a small laugh. " Okay, Suze it is then."

The way my name rolled of his tongue I wanted him to say it over and over again. He had a really soft voice, really gentle. It was perfect. _He _was perfect.

After a few moments of silence Father Dom spoke again. "Ryan shares the same extraordinary gift that we do Susannah. Ryan too is a mediator."

Okay, if he calls mediating a gift one more time I'm going to lose it. It's a gift that I could really do without. However, by having this so-called gift , I'm going to get to spend more time with the angel faced Ryan. Now that couldn't bee too bad could it? I smiled happily to myself.

"Now, Susannah, I have more forms to fill in with Ryan and Jesse will be waiting for you by the gate now, I changed the time so he was not to worry. See you tomorrow." I waved by to Father Dom and Ryan and made my way outside.

Jesse I could see was leaning against one of the posts, which lead into the Junipero Serra Mission Academy. His hair was lightly blowing in the wind, and into his eyes. He looked like someone out of a scene from an old western. A very hot someone at that. Yet again he was wearing a huge smile. Well that was until he saw that I was hobbling, and very badly at that, towards him. "Susannah, what happened to your leg?" Jesse frowned and looked at me with concern, "You haven't been in another fight have you."

_"Gee Jesse," I thought, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."_

"No Jesse, I have _not_ been in a fight. I just fell of my chair in chemistry, and my leg was re-acquainted with the stone floor."

Jesse let out another one of his small chuckles. "How much does it hurt? Will you be able to walk all the way home?"

"I'm sure I'll…" but I was cut mid-sentence by someone calling my name. "Suze…. hey Suze." I looked around to see who'd called me and to my delight, Ryan was stood at the opposite end of the quad standing next to a 4x4. "Need a ride?" he continued. Jesse grabbed hold of my arm and spun me round to face him. "Who…is that?" he said in a tone, which was pretty obviously filled with anger. "Ow Jesse, that hurt" I cried. "That's Ryan. He's another mediator. Can you get off me please? You're starting to hurt me." But Jesse didn't let go. "JESSE" I shouted. "What are you doing?" He had a tight grip of me and was soon dragging me out of the gates. I managed to break free from Jesse, but his eyes were filled with anger. "THAT Susannah," he pointed towards Ryan, "is why you always end up getting hurt." I looked at Jesse blankly, searching his eyes to try and work out what had made him flip. " What are you talking about? I've only just met Ryan. All he did was offer me a ride home, how is that going to end in me getting hurt." Jesse looked even angrier than before. He began walking up the hill in the direction of my house, but stopped when I screamed at him to make sense of what he had just said.

"Every time you meet a boy you like you end up getting hurt. You have had have the mission collapse on you because of some guy. Last time you met somebody with your gift he nearly had you killed. I will not stand around and see that happen to you again." I couldn't move, I just stared at him. " Do you really think this time is going to be different Querida?" I walked up to where he was standing and stared for a few seconds. " This is why I didn't want you coming to protect me. I knew that if I even spoke to a boy, especially if he was another mediator, you would go psycho on me because you would give me the whole you bring all this pain upon yourself lecture." Jesse looked as if he was about to wring my neck, so I decided to take a few steps backwards in case. Not that this would have done me any good seeing as he did have supernatural powers. I however was not prepared for what happened next. Jesse walked up to me and placed his two hands on my shoulders. "You Susannah Simon are just a silly little girl," he looked at me but this time rather than looking angry he looked hurt. Then he just dematerialised.

Even though he had looked hurt, I was so angry with Jesse I had no time for sympathy. And he had called me a little girl. _"I'll show him,"_ I thought to myself, and I made my way back to the school parking lot to see if the offer from Ryan was still standing.


	5. Temper, Temper!

Thanks so much to my two reviewers. Yay! People are actually reading this! Glad you're enjoying it so far! Look another chapter! I did update soon! :o)!

Chapter 5

When I got back to the gates, I had tears in my eyes. Why did Jesse just disappear like that? I thought he was worried about me. If he had really been worried he wouldn't have just disappeared like that. I was fuming. I saw Ryan in the distance still standing by his jeep, but this time he wasn't smiling. He looked genuinely confused. " Are you alright Suze?" he said when I got closer to him. I said I was fine, he must've seen that I really wasn't but he didn't pursue the conversation any further. "Come on, let's get you home,"  he said in a reassuring manner.

It wasn't a very long drive back to my house, only ten minutes or so, but that was enough time to try and sort my self out. I didn't want anyone, especially not my mom, to realise that I'd been crying. There was silence in the car for almost two minutes till Ryan spoke again. " That was Jesse wasn't it," he said in a low voice.

" How do you know about Jesse?" I asked, genuinely surprised.  Why did somebody, I'd only known for an hour, know about Jesse?

"Father Dominic filled me in on your situation when I arrived at the missionary this afternoon. I'd already heard about you over the phone, but Father Dominic thought it best if he spoke to me about it properly in person before I met you. That's why I was in his office just now. Well as well as filling in forms anyways," he answered calmly.

Okay, well that explains that much, I thought. " I heard about the situation with Paul Slater too," he continued, " I can't believe he's coming back to school this semester, that's got to be tough on you."

_"OKAY, FREEZE FRAME! **Paul** **Slater** is coming to the missionary? You have got to be kidding me!"_  I cried in utter shock. The look on my face must have said enough because Ryan started again.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Suze. I though Father Dom would have told you." He looked truly sorry.

 "Nope. _That_ he forgot to tell me."

"I'm such an idiot." Gee, the poor guy was beating himself up over something Father Dom forgot to tell me.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You're not an idiot." Ryan was just shaking his head as if he'd just committed a crime or something. We pulled up outside the house at quarter to five_. "Just in time for dinner" _I thought to myself_ Five minutes later and Andy would have made me wash the dishes for the next three weeks._

"Well thanks for the ride. It was really sweet of you. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow then." Ryan said I was very welcome and threw me another glimpse of those pearly whites after he's apologised about fifty more times. I waited till he'd vacated the drive, then I turned around took a few deep breaths and opened the front door. Andy was the only person in the house when I got in. "Hey Suze. Nice day at school?" Andy was my mom's boyfriend, and you could really tell he was trying hard to get along with me. That's more than can be said for Dopey. He's had it in for me since the day he met me. And believe you me the feeling is mutual.

" Yeah it was fine thanks Andy," I smiled at him before retreating to my bedroom.

I didn't know what else to do, so I went and sat on the window ledge overlooking the Carmel hills. I grabbed hold of my pillow and sunk my head into it. I didn't know why it was bothering me so much about what Jesse had said, because I'd heard worse, I just thought he'd be a bit more understanding. I couldn't keep it in any longer. I just started crying again. After a few moments, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw that somebody was sat in front of me. I couldn't make out who it was at first because my eyes were all blurry. But after I wiped my eyes I knew exactly who it was. It was Jesse. "Go Away. I don't want to talk to you." Jesse looked as if he'd guessed that was what I was going to say but he didn't. Go away that is. He just stared at me, and rested his head in his hands.

"I'm so sorry Susannah. I shouldn't have acted the way I did,"  he said in a soft voice. I tried not to listen to him, and continued staring out the window into the distance, still crying though not as much as before. But then Jesse reached out and wiped the tears from under my eyes. I just stared at him for a few moments not knowing what to say, but Jesse took hold of my hands and continued. " It's just…. I don't want to see you hurt again. I've seen what has happened to you before and I hate it….I don't like…" He didn't get to finish what he was saying because I interrupted him by throwing my arms around him and placing my head against his chest.

 " I'm so sorry Jesse. I don't mean to make you worry. You don't have to worry because I'm going to take more care this time. I promise." I don't think me saying 'this time' was the best idea, since Jesse pushed me back into my previous position and began pacing the room.

 "Querida…. Did you not listen to what I just said? I don't want you getting hurt again. I don't want you seeing this boy when I am not with you. I don't trust him."

What was Jesse talking about? How could he not trust Ryan? He'd never even met him. " How can you not trust Ryan Jesse? You've never spoken to him. There is no reason for you not to trust him. I mean he brought me home safely. He didn't just abandon me like you did." I was extremely angry, and I think Jesse saw that.

" Susannah, I didn't abandon you. You weren't going to come with me. What was I supposed to do? Nobody can see me so I couldn't pick you up and carry you all the way home." Jesse had me there but he still shouldn't have left me.

"How do I know you're not going to do that to me again? Leave me on my own. Don't try to tell me about trust Jesse when you obviously have a problem with it yourself." I don't think I'd seen Jesse look this mad since he was nearly exorcised, but I didn't care. I needed to make him see I was not just a silly little girl.

"And for your information Jesse I'm not a little girl. I'm sixteen years old okay? I'm old enough to look out for myself. And if I want to see Ryan again then I will. You can't stop me Jesse. I mean he's starting at the mission tomorrow…and so is…" I paused for a moment.

 " And so is who Susannah?" Jesse demanded

"

Paul…Paul Slater," I said in a calm voice. I saw the look in Jesse's eyes, and I knew that I had made a mistake. Jesse muttered something in Spanish and then, as he had done by the missionary, disappeared without another word. I'm guessing his words, if translated, were something along the lines of 'not if I've got anything to do with it.'

A/N Not a very long chapter again, but I was suffering from writers block, lol. I'll try and make the next one longer.


	6. Flowers, Fists and Fossil Watches

Hi guys. Thanks for the reviews. Glad you like it so far. Just a short note cos I gotta go! Bye for now .

Chapter 6:

Jesse, as I had predicted, did not turn up to escort me to school the next morning, so instead of taking a ride with Sleepy, I called Adam. Adam loved his car, so I didn't think he'd mind coming to pick me up. I dialled his number and as I'd hoped, he said he'd be happy to take me. So I rushed upstairs, with no time to re-straighten my hair, and was outside the door quicker than you could say 'Ryan Cooper is a hottie'. Adam appeared trundling up my drive way after a couple of minutes saying he couldn't get the car up it due to the fact that there was a flower delivery van blocking the entrance. I thought that they were for my mom from Andy so I didn't think twice and followed Adam to the road where he'd been forced to park his car.

As we approached the gate, a tall shaggy haired man exited the van and came towards me. " Excuse me, but does a Susannah Simon happen to live at this residence?" I had to say I was pretty shocked that he was asking for me but what could a girl do.

"Yeah, that's me." Adam just burst out laughing. "Hey," I said, "What was that for?" Adam tried to control himself but he couldn't bring himself to say it. But I soon saw what he was laughing about. Six Bouquets of red roses descended from the van.

"That's one heck of an admirer you got there Simon." He said with a huge grin across his face, "What did you do this time? Elope with a florists son?"

I just stared at him not amused, "Oh ha…ha, very funny." I reached over to one of the bouquets and pulled out a card, which was placed in between some of the flowers. It read: " _To Suze. The most amazing girl I've ever met. These roses symbolise every hour I've spent without you. Love always, Paul x x x_'. I mean it, I could have been sick right there and then, but I didn't want to ruin my new Jimmy Choos. What kind of a delinquent was this guy anyway? The shaggy haired man, whom I'd noticed name was Steve, asked me what to do with the flowers. "Uh…. could you take them up to the house please, I would myself but I'm already going to be late for school. I mean this guy drives like my grandmother. "Hey!" Adam protested. I thought I'd add that last part in as payback for him laughing at me. Steve the florist let out a chuckle and said "right away miss." I thanked him and then followed Adam, who was now in a bit of a sulk, to his car.

We arrived at the mission at around ten to eight, so I had plenty of time before role call to speak to Father Dominic about something that he'd obviously forgotten to tell me about. "Hey Father Dom," I said sauntering into his office.

"Good Morning Susannah," he replied in a less than cheerful voice.

"Hey, you better start lightening up or I'll have to start changing your name to Father Grumpy head." Father Dominic frowned.

 "Not to sound rude Susannah, but what exactly is the reason of this visit?" I shook my head and sat down on the big comfy chair, which Ryan had been sat in the afternoon before.

"I have reason to believe that there is a new student starting here today." Father Dominic's face cast over with a look of shock. He opened his mouth to speak again when suddenly the door to his office burst open again.

" Good Morning Father Dominic. Isn't it a lovely day." Yeah. You've guessed it. It was Paul, who hadn't seen me right away. "SUZE!" he cried when he saw me, " How've you been? Did you get the flowers?"

I smiled sweetly and said, "Yeah I did, you really shouldn't have." I wanted to say, _"You really shouldn't have you raving lunatic. What part of I don't like you stop trying to exorcise my boyfriend don't you understand?_ But obviously I couldn't say that because a) raving lunatic would have been substituted for more colourful language and I didn't want poor father D to have a coronary right there in front of me, and b) Jesse wasn't my boyfriend. Even though I wanted him to be. He didn't think of me that way, and hey, he just thought I was a silly little girl remember. His romantic sentiments just fill me up sometimes. Paul then came closer to me and tried to embrace me in a hug, but I stopped him by saying " Nuh-uh. This sweater is Cashmere. If you dirty it, I'll have to kill you." Paul didn't continue trying to hug me, but thought I was joking. If only he knew how deathly serious I was.

 "Right…well…Why don't you two run along to class before Sister Ernestine catches you and gives you both detention. I shall see you after school Susannah to continue our little chat."

I threw Father Dom an angelic smile and in response I replied, "Okay Father Dom, but not unless I see you first," I think he got my meaning of my last words when I signalled my finger running along my throat when I said see you first. Paul however didn't see this. He was too busy trying to figure out how to work his new Fossil watch. God, I swear that guy must have a share in the company or something. I waved to Father Dom and closed the door behind me. This, I thought, was not the end of the conversation by a long shot. I just hope he had a good enough reason to let Paul into our school, to stop my fist from plummeting my fist into his face. Paul's face that is.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys. Thanks for my reviews. I like getting them. :o) Keep it up. They make me happy! I'm a happy camper! (hmmm. I shouldn't have said that. Hehe) So here's Chapter 7. Hope it's ok. Shall update as soon as I can.

C xxx

**Chapter 7:**

"OUCH," I cried after my face collided with something I can only describe as being very hard.

"SUZE…God I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there," said a familiar voice. I looked up and to my relief, though to my total embarrassment, I saw Ryan staring down at me. When I say down. I mean down. The guy was like three times the size of me after all.

"Oh, hey Ryan. Sorry about that. It wasn't your fault, I guess I should watch where I'm going," I said feeling my cheeks burning up.

"No, no not at all. It's just I was coming down the corridor, not paying too much attention and then, bam. There you were," he replied.

"Yup….here I am," I added in response. _"Gosh Simon…here I am?!…Get a life." _ Ryan let out a little laugh and smiled at me. This time it was a really big smile. You know one of those heart-stopping smiles from the movies. Perfection. Absolute perfection.

"So, what's with the hurry anyway?" Ryan asked

"Well if you must know," I lowered my voice into a quiet whisper, though loud enough that Ryan could hear me, "I was trying to get away from 'Senor Psychopath' in there, and pointed into Father Dom's office.

"Father Dominic? I thought you liked him?" Ryan looked at me a little confused

"No, not Father Dominic. His early morning visitor, Paul Slater." I said whilst rolling my eyes.

"Oh right. Yeah, I've yet to meet this Slater guy. Maybe you could introduce us."   I just shook my head at this comment.

" If you want to die of boredom then go ahead." I said, "The guy is obsessed with himself. And he's a complete and utter moron. He _actually_ thinks I like him, and won't leave me alone. He's like the itch that wouldn't go away. I mean the guy needs to go buy himself a clue."

"Oh don't worry Suze. I'll protect you." He winked at me and threw me a crooked smile. Okay well my heart was beating so hard and so fast, I think he could probably see it through my new sweater. I didn't know what to say. I was just _staring_ at the guy. Thankfully the door to Father D's office swung open a few seconds later.

"Ah, Mr Cooper. There you are. Please, come in." Father Dominic said with a rather sickening smile, though that smile was soon wiped off when he saw me. A frown took its place. "Susannah! What are you still doing here? Do you desire that detention from Sister Ernestine? No? Well hurry along now, I do not want you to keep your first period teacher waiting." I said I was leaving to Father Dom and turned around, but before I got the chance to head down the hall Ryan called after me.

"Hey Suze. I've got Chemistry with Mr Farrows third period, and I was told you do to, so, see you then?" he said with a questioning glance

"Yeah, see you later," I called after him. He smiled at me again and then retreated into Father Dominic's office for the second time.

"_Well Simon, the way the things are going, the year is on the up," _I thought to myself, and turned the corner to get to first period, narrowly missing Sister Ernestine.

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It seemed like an eternity to third period, but God was it worth it. Ryan was the first person in the lab due to the fact that Father Dom had let him out a few minutes early to have an introduction with Mr Farrows and get himself settled in. He'd saved a seat for me at the back of the room next to him, as he didn't know anyone else, though I like to think it's because I'm so wonderful and charming, but whatever. Cee and Adam were the next arrivals. Adam hadn't noticed us at first, but Cee Cee had. Her jaw dropped. Adam, finally realising why Cee Cee had stopped dead in the middle of the classroom elbowed her in the side. " Hey Cee, you need a bucket over there."

Cee, taking her eyes of Ryan for a moment, turned and stared at Adam. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

 "You know? A bucket. You'd need one to catch all that drool spewing out of your mouth." Adam actually looked hurt by what Cee Cee had done and went storming off to the other side of the classroom and threw his books down onto the table. Firstly I mean, any normal girl would have done exactly the same thing, it's not like Cee Cee has committed a major crime by looking at a guy that way, and secondly, what was Adams problem. I mean he doesn't even like Cee Cee right? Or so he keeps _telling _me.

Cee Cee rolled her eyes in the direction of Adam and turned back around to face me. Ryan was preoccupied trying to memorise all the room changes he had on his schedule so he didn't notice my little conversation with Cee.

"Who is that?" Cee mouthed pointing to Ryan.

"His names Ryan. He's new," I replied. I was a little stoked with myself as _I_ was the one sitting next to him

"OMG, he's so cute," said Cee Cee, "Why are _you_ sat next to him though?" She looked a little bit confused by this but obviously I couldn't tell her the real reason. I was about to come up with this story about how I'd bumped into him outside Father Dom's office, but Mr Farrows, the bane of my life, came strutting into the room.

"Right can everybody take their places, and quieten down please?" Mr Farrows told us. "Cee Cee, your seat seems to be getting a little cold over there next to Mr McTavish."  Cee Cee immediately ran over to her place next to Adam, though he didn't look ecstatic that she'd finally decided to join him.

"OK. Well as I'm sure most of you have already noticed, we have a new student with us today. Ryan Cooper." Everybody looked around to get a glimpse of him. He was going to be some hat of a novelty around here for the next few days I could imagine. "As Mr Cooper was not present in homeroom this morning, Father Dominic has kindly asked that we use the first five minutes of out lesson to get to know him a little better." He looked over at Ryan and then put his hand out and beckoned him forward. " Mr Cooper, if you'd be so kind."

"Wish me luck," he said in a slightly nervous voice.

"Good luck," I mouthed.

"Now, Mr Cooper, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? Mr Farrows asked.

"Well, my names Ryan Cooper. I'm seventeen years old and I'm a transfer student from Maine."

The conversation between Ryan and Mr Farrows continued for a couple more minutes, filled with 'ooh's,' and 'ahh's,' from the class. Adam was the only one who didn't seem to be enjoying himself. All I could make out was an expression on his face, which had "oh please," written all over it. That was until I'd noticed another member of the class sat a few rows in front of me who I hadn't noticed before. But unlike Adam, this particular person didn't look sad and annoyed. He looked angry. _REALLY _angry.


	8. Fearful Reunion

Thanks for the reviews I've been getting. They've been really nice. GothicGranny: Thanks for the C.C I appreciate it. I was supposed to be studying for my exams when I wrote it, like now, so I was rushing to get it typed up. I'll and make sure everything makes sense now. So here's chapter eight. Hope it's ok. I'll update soon.

C xxx

**Chapter 8:**

It was Jesse. He was sat three rows in front of me in the previously unoccupied seat next to the window. His face was reddening, and his eyebrows were drawing closer together with each passing second. I followed his gaze to try and work out what had brought him to the mission in the first place. It wasn't time to go home for a good few hours so it wasn't anything to do with that, and I couldn't see anything that Ryan could have done to further offend him, but as I followed, the picture became clearer. _Much_ clearer. Jesse's eyes were focused on none other that Paul Slater. Paul was sat on the opposite side of the room next to Debbie Mancuso and John Ladelavich. I thought Paul's attention had been completely focused on what Ryan had been saying but apparently not. I watched Paul for a few minutes, and every now and then, he'd turn around and wink at me. _"Sheesh,"_ I thought to myself.  I mean even though Paul Slater nearly got me and my would-be boyfriend exorcised a few months back, he is actually one good looking guy, but his appeal had started to wear off. Any girl in this room would give anything to be with him, but for some reason, he's never returned the favour. His attention has always been on me, even though he knows I don't feel that way for him. Kelly Prescott I knew would give her right arm if it meant she could go out with Paul. I turned my attention back to Jesse. He was staring at me now. His eyes were still filled with anger, but there was also an element of sadness there. It must have looked like I was staring into space because nobody else, with the exception of Ryan and Paul, could actually see Jesse. Mr Farrows was keen to point this fact out to me.

"Miss Simon!" he cried at me in a voice that I could tell he thought sounded full of authority, "Did you know that it's extremely rude not to listen. Mr Cooper here is talking and the least you could do is appear to be paying attention, even if you are in fact not." I apologised to Mr F and Ryan, but Ryan was quick to say that I didn't need to apologise, (he knew what was distracting my attention away from him.)

"No Mr Cooper, it is not alright for Susannah not to apologise. Miss Simon, I would like a word with you after class."

_"Here we go again." I thought._

 Paul, who hadn't really been listening to what Mr Farrows had been saying, turned his head to glance out the window at the beautiful waves, which he could see rolling in from the ocean. However, this had proven to be very difficult for him, seeing the ghost of a dead cowboy had blocked his view. (This is the only way I could describe it, even though Jesse was always quick to remind me that he was not a cowboy). Paul's tanned skin drained to almost white in a split second. He just sat there motionless. Staring at him. Mr Farrows had been speaking, but when he noticed Paul's expression, he paused.

"Mr Slater, would you and Miss Simon be kind enough to explain what you can see? Hmm? Does anybody else have a problem?" Paul continued staring. I thought maybe he'd been turned to stone until he began to speak.

"Mr Farrows…. I…. erm…. I think I'm gonna be…" and with that Paul shot up from his chair, stumbled over a few tables, and ran straight out the door without looking back. Everyone thought Paul had run out because he was going to be sick, but I knew the real reason. That wasn't the face of somebody who was about to be sick. It was a face full of fear.

"Miss Simon," Mr Farrows said, a wave of confusion flowing through his voice, "seeing as you and Mr Slater share a common interest in that space over there, you obviously have a lot more knowledge than the rest of us. Go check on Paul and then return here at once and explain yourself. I mean it Susannah." I got up from my chair, acknowledged Mr Farrows and left the room, not before noticing that Jesse had disappeared too.

"_Where can they be? Where can they be?" _This phrase played over and over again in my head as I searched high and low for any sign of Paul or Jesse. It wasn't for another ten minutes that I eventually stumbled across their path. And as I feared, Jesse had found Paul. Paul was crouched over with his hands being held firmly behind his back. Jesse was towering over him and screaming blue murder.

"What are you doing here Slater? Why have you come back? Do you not think you've caused enough pain, is that it? So now you thought you'd come back for more?" Jesse was really angry. I was amazed he hadn't rendered Paul unconscious.

"JESSE! What are you doing?" I screamed. Jesse turned around to face me but he didn't even loosen the hold he had around Paul's wrist.

"Finishing what _he_ started," he retaliated. I didn't know what else to do so I launched myself at Jesse. (Yes I know I know. Very feminine Suze) Jesse wasn't expecting this so it came as a pretty big shock to him. He let go of Paul and toppled to the floor, taking me with him. Jesse just looked back at me.

"Susannah, what are you doing?" I didn't answer him, as I didn't know what I was doing myself. It all happened so fast. One minute he was standing there with his fist high in the air, waiting to crash down into Paul's skull any second, and the next minute, he was lying in the cold dirt behind the Junipero Sera monument. The bell rang a minute later and neither of us had moved an inch. I was just lying there, unable to move, falling further into Jesse's gaze, which he held so tightly upon me.

"Suze," I head a voice cry, "Suze, where are you?" It was Ryan. He'd come to find me. After finally pulling myself away from Jesse, I crawled out from behind the monument. Ryan came to my aid and pulled me out of the bushes, which I'd stumbled back into. "Suze, what's going on? I saw Jesse in Chem. just now, and then I saw Paul." I gathered my thought for a while and then it hit me. _PAUL._ I'd completely forgotten about Paul. I grabbed my hands from Ryan's and ran out onto the quad. Paul was huddled over in a corner. There was moaning and groaning like I'd never heard before. He had a few cuts and bruises but I don't think Jesse had done any permanent damage. I scurried back over to where I'd left Ryan.

"I can't explain now, but please do me a favour." Ryan's eyes were darting about in all directions trying to see what was going on.

"Of course, anything," he said sounding a bit confused by the whole fiasco.

"I can't tell you what's gone on but I need you to take Paul to see the nurse. He's in the quad, and he's suffered some bruising. I need you to cover for me. Mr Farrows will be out looking for me so I need you to tell him that I was feeling unwell and I've gone home." I pleaded.

"I have to say this is all a bit weird Suze, but just as long as you're alright then I'm not going to pry. I'll take care of things here. Just get outta here before Mr Farrows catches you." Ryan ordered.

I flung my arms around his neck and whispered "thank you." I ran back to where Jesse had been lying but there was no longer any sign of him. As long as Ryan was taking care of Paul, I was going to take care of Jesse. And I knew exactly where he was going to be.


	9. Chapter 9

After narrowly escaping the wrath of Mr. Farrows, I ran full-speed out of the gates and straight up the Carmel Hills. The rain was falling hard now and my legs were tiring but I couldn't stop. I _had_ to find Jesse. _"Come on Simon, just one more hill to go" _I told myself, but my choice of footwear was weighing me down. I looked down at my shoes and said my final goodbye.

"Lord Jimmy of Choo, Please forgive me for the sacrilegious act I'm about to perform", I said before yanking off the six inch boots from my bare feet and throwing them into a ravine at the side of the road. Carrying them would have caused me to slow down and that's the last thing I needed right now. My pace quickened and within minutes I was running up the drive to my house, darting between the path and the tree lined edges just in case any of the neighbours saw that I was cutting class. If Andy ever found out, I'd be punished until the end of time. 

"Jesse" I shrieked. "JESSE, WHERE ARE YOU". I made my way round the side of the house and into the backyard, to the place where Andy, Sleepy and Dopey had unearthed Jesse, but there was nobody there. I ran into the house and up to my room just in case Jesse wanted me to follow him so he could tell me why he was acting so crazy, but I didn't find anything.

"_Get it together, Suze! Where would you hide if you'd been dead for 150 years but didn't want anybody to find you?" _I paced my room for the next five minutes, hoping Jesse would just materialize in the creepy silent way he normally does, but to no avail. What happened next, however, I did _not_ see coming.

"Would you quit your whining?", came a voice from not so far behind me. I jumped round and struck a pose kind of like something out of a kung-fu movie. _Jet Lee ain't got nothin' on you, Simon._

"Who the hell are you?" I gasped. Standing before me was a young girl, about the same age as myself, but dressed in a long period dress, bonnet and carrying what looked like a very, _very_ sharp dagger. She was standing way too close for comfort, so I took a few steps back so I could take in the whole ensemble. She had very long dark hair, almost the same shade as Jesse's, her face was beautiful but there was a cold stare in her eyes which even gave me a bad case of the heebie-jeebies. After so many years of mediating, I didn't think it possible.

"I'm Angela, but I think the question should be, who the hell do you think you are?" She took a few steps forward, still wielding the dagger in my direction. Jeez, these dead chicks _really_ have a thing about all things pointy and shiny. I guess they're just making up for missing out on the fashion industry boom by accessorising in the latest (for their time) and best-performing products in the weapon industry.

"Excuse me, but this is _my _house, so maybe you should back away from me with that…thing". Her eyes narrowed, but she stayed put and had absolutely no intention of moving.

"I don't think so! You're not leaving this room until I find out what you're up to" She scowled, prodding my side with her trusty side-kick, Mr dagger.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you've got the wrong person". She scoffed at this and grabbed the back of my neck, digging her very sharp, very dead nails into my skin.

"I don't think so, deary. You're Susannah Simon and you're going to pay for what you've done. Like it or not, they're coming for you and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it". This time when she spoke, I noted a hint of a Spanish accent, almost like she was trying to cover it up.

"What?" I looked blankly at her, but her grip didn't weaken. "Who are _they_? What have I apparently done? And who actually are you, Angela?"

Her eyes danced with anger, her mouth widened and out came some sort of voodoo. She pressed harder and harder into my neck and the more she spoke, the less alive I began to feel. My legs weakened, my eyes wouldn't focus and It was becoming increasingly hard to breathe.

"Jesse" I whispered, "Jesse, please, I need you". The next thing I knew my head felt like it was being crushed by a ton of bricks and I fell hard to the ground. "Where are you Jesse? Why aren't you coming?" I…..I…."

But Jesse didn't come. I fell deeper into a trance and lay unconscious on the floor for an unknown period of time, until suddenly, I heard somebody calling my name…


End file.
